07-30-2018 Johannes Maisack

• Six million households involved in the launch
• Yet another step toward the gigabit society
• Check availability here: www.telekom.de/schneller

A few simple steps for a speed of 250: On August 1, Deutsche Telekom plans to provide access bandwidth of up to 250 Mbit/s to six million households.

On August 1, Deutsche Telekom plans to provide access bandwidth of up to 250 megabits per second (Mbit/s) to six million households. By 2019, the number of households receiving the new bandwidth standard will grow to 15 million. "This is another step toward the gigabit society," explained Dirk Wössner, Managing Director of Telekom Deutschland. "We're building a fast Internet for the masses, instead of reserving top speeds for the few," he added.

The high-speed lines will be activated in a total of some 900 municipalities throughout Germany. In the first rollout phase the focus was on regional centers and rural areas. A second phase, lasting until the end of the year, will then bring the new service to large cities. Customers are invited to go to www.telekom.de/schneller to determine whether they live in one of the areas chosen for the upgrade.

The new rate plan: Magenta Zuhause XL 250

To obtain the new lines, or upgrade accordingly, customers need to book the Magenta Zuhause XL rate plan, which offers download speeds of up to 250 Mbit/s and upload speeds of up to 40 Mbit/s. For new customers, the plan costs 19.95 euros per month for the first six months. Thereafter (as of the seventh month), the plan has a regular monthly price of 54.95 euros. Customers also have the option of adding EntertainTV for an additional 9.95 euros per month, which includes an ultra HD receiver with 500 GB of storage capacity. Magenta Zuhause XL" will become available starting on August 1.

Not all routers will be able to handle the new 250 Mbit/s bandwidth standard. Those that do include Deutsche Telekom's Speedport W 925V and Speedport Smart 3 routers, each available for 4.95 euros per month under the leasing model. Needless to say, customers are free to use any third-party routers that are compatible with the new service.

Where the 250 Mbit/s lines are available

Expansion of coverage with the new service is influenced by two major factors: First, areas that show promising commercial potential. Then, those distribution boxes in selected areas that need to be upgraded anyway are fitted with suitable line cards. "Customers are the architects for the network," Wössner likes to say. "Customers will be the ones who decide what happens with the 250 Mbit/s lines after 2019. If the demand is there, we will be quick to respond."

Deutsche Telekom plans to offer access speeds of at least 50 Mbit/s to some 80 percent of all households in Germany by end of 2019. And the great majority will actually have bandwidth of at least 100 Mbit/s available.